Cavs drub Hornets; shorthanded Pacers set low-score record

Derek Anderson and Brevin Knight didn't want to be anywhere near each other when their alma maters played in the Final Four.

"Nah, we probably would've been fighting," said Anderson, whose Kentucky Wildcats beat Knight's Stanford Cardinal in the NCAA semifinals.All the Cleveland Cavaliers rookies had to fight about on Sunday was who would be in charge of picking apart the Charlotte Hornets.

Anderson scored 16 points filling in for foul-plagued Knight as the Cavaliers beat the weary Hornets 97-82 in Cleveland.

"We've got a pretty good thing going here," said Knight, who had seven points and 11 assists as the Cavs won for the eighth time in 10 games and stayed in the sixth playoff position in the East.

There was nothing but trash talk between them 24 hours earlier.

"They squeaked to get a close game," Anderson said of Kentucky's 86-85 overtime victory that sent the Wildcats to the championship game for the third straight year. "We didn't squeak, we were supposed to win that."

"It was a great game, one of the best college games I've seen," Knight said as Wesley Person of Auburn chanted, "S-E-C! S-E-C!"

It was the playful banter of a team on a roll as the playoffs approach.

"This stretch has been good," Cleveland coach Mike Fratello said. "We don't know how long it will carry over. We'd like to have a real streak going into the playoffs. We'll have to see."

Charlotte had won 15 of 17, but was coming off a 133-96 loss at Indiana Friday night. The Hornets shot 29 percent in the first half, trailing 52-28, and were so far out of it that not even Cleveland-killer Glen Rice could bring them back.

Rice, held to a season-low six points on 1-for-11 shooting against the Pacers, was 5-for-13 for 15 points.

"They were running at Glen, making him put the ball on the floor," Hornets coach Dave Cowens said. "That's hurting us, and we have to figure out what to do because we're going to see more of it."

It was a second consecutive lackluster performance for the Hornets.

SUNS 106, GRIZZLIES 98: At Phoenix, Cliff Robinson scored 20 points and Kevin Johnson came off the bench to contribute 15 points and 11 assists as the Phoenix Suns pulled away late to beat the Vancouver Grizzlies 106-98 Sunday.

Danny Manning broke a 94-94 tie with an 18-foot jumper with just over two minutes remaining. The Suns did most of the rest of their scoring from the foul line as they closed the game with a 12-4 run.

HAWKS 118, PISTONS 95: At Atlanta, Tyrone Corbin and Steve Smith scored 20 points apiece and the Atlanta Hawks scored a season high in points, beating the Detroit Pistons 118-95 Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

The Hawks scored a season-low 74 points in a loss to Chicago on Friday night. But on Sunday, six Hawks scored in double figures as the team surpassed a previous season-high of 117 points at Toronto on March 17.

BULLS 104, BUCKS 87: At Milwaukee, Michael Jordan scored 30 points, many of them with flashbulbs popping throughout the Bradley Center, as the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 104-87 Sunday for their ninth straight victory.

If Jordan follows through on his promise that this is his final season, then fans at the arena - about evenly divided cheering for the Bulls and the Bucks - wanted to make sure they captured the moment on film.

Jordan spent much of the second and fourth quarters on the bench.

MAGIC 95, RAPTORS 68: At Toronto, Horace Grant scored 16 points and the Orlando Magic held the Toronto Raptors to the fewest points in their history in a 95-68 win Sunday.

Doug Christie was the only offensive presence for Toronto, scoring 20 points on 6-for-17 shooting. The other four starters combined for 7-for-31.

SPURS 74, PACERS 55: At Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers set an NBA record by scoring the fewest points in a game since the advent of the shot clock, losing 74-55 to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

The Pacers played without their two best players. Reggie Miller was suspended for one game for a flagrant foul against Charlotte's Vlade Divac on Friday, and Rik Smits has an injured foot.

HEAT 109, ROCKETS 77: At Miami, Dan Majerle scored a season-high 22 points and Tim Hardaway had 16 points and a season-high 15 assists as Miami clinched its second straight Atlantic Division title with a 109-77 victory over Houston on Sunday.

Alonzo Mourning outplayed Hakeem Olajuwon in the battle of two of the NBA's top centers outscoring the Houston All-Star 16-15 and out rebounding him 15-4.